# Word Play Challenge **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 7, 2004, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-play-challenge/243994 "2004-05-07T13:21:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2004, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-play-challenge/243994/1 "2004-05-07T13:21:04Z")
One day at the puzzle factory, while doing something completely unrelated, I came up with the following “add a letter” sequence: HE HOE HOSE HORSE HOARSE You’ll note it starts with a legitimate two-letter words, and that the one letter added each time is added to the _interior_ of the word, not to either end. (Thus I can’t take it to “hoarser” for a seven-letter word.) So far I haven’t been able to match this, let alone beat it – can you? ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2004, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-play-challenge/243994/2 "2004-05-07T14:10:26Z")
Best I’ve come up with is BY BUY BURY BURRY BLURRY ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2004, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-play-challenge/243994/3 "2004-05-07T14:14:39Z")
just thought of another one MY MAY MANY MANLY MAINLY ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2004, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-play-challenge/243994/4 "2004-05-07T14:18:50Z")
Nice one! I think that’s better than the first – “burry” is a little cheesy, don’t you think? Damn, I’m impressed – I’ve been devoting odd moments to it for a couple of weeks and coming up with nothing. ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_The\_Younger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/d9b06d/32.png) [@Paul\_The\_Younger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_The_Younger)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2004, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-play-challenge/243994/5 "2004-05-07T14:51:50Z")
> [@twickster](#): > > Nice one! I think that’s better than the first – “burry” is a little cheesy, don’t you think? > > Damn, I’m impressed – I’ve been devoting odd moments to it for a couple of weeks and coming up with nothing. A nice way to kill a slow day at work… BY BAY BRAY BERAY (I admit, I had to search for that one…) BETRAY ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2004, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-play-challenge/243994/6 "2004-05-07T15:54:07Z")
> [@twickster](#): > > Nice one! I think that’s better than the first – “burry” is a little cheesy, don’t you think? May be, but it’s in the dictionary. Cheese is a food too. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2004, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-play-challenge/243994/7 "2004-05-07T16:28:32Z")
Sorry if I offended you by using the word “cheesy,” **Knowed Out** – I just meant I preferred the second one as being all words one is likely to use in day-to-day conversation. You came up with two in less than half an hour, and that truly impresses the hell out of me! ---
**Author:** ![congodwarf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e36b37/32.png) [@congodwarf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/congodwarf)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2004, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-play-challenge/243994/8 "2004-05-07T16:34:07Z")
In Tin Tins Tints Stints I had a lot of hope for myself here. ---
**Author:** ![CandidGamera](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/candidgamera/32/2878_2.png) [@CandidGamera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CandidGamera)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2004, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-play-challenge/243994/9 "2004-05-07T16:39:01Z")
As Ads Aids Aides Asides/Abides. The Dude Abides. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2004, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-play-challenge/243994/10 "2004-05-07T16:44:39Z")
**congodwarf** – nice try, but you missed one of my rules – additions are to the interior of the word only. **Candid Gamera** – excellent! It hadn’t occured to me to try “as.” I was esp. impressed that you have two possibilities for your last step. We’re all topping out at six letters – is this really the upper limit? ---
**Author:** ![CandidGamera](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/candidgamera/32/2878_2.png) [@CandidGamera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CandidGamera)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2004, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-play-challenge/243994/11 "2004-05-07T16:52:19Z")
> [@twickster](#): > > **congodwarf** – nice try, but you missed one of my rules – additions are to the interior of the word only. > > **Candid Gamera** – excellent! It hadn’t occured to me to try “as.” I was esp. impressed that you have two possibilities for your last step. > > We’re all topping out at six letters – is this really the upper limit? Depends on the rules… I’m trying to avoid foreign languages, abbreviations\*, acronyms, and proper nouns, of course. Most of the chains I find end up at most 5 letters long… I got lots of those. \*Unless they’re like ‘ad’ which is dirt-common. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2004, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-play-challenge/243994/12 "2004-05-07T17:01:20Z")
> [@CandidGamera](#): > > \*Unless they’re like ‘ad’ which is dirt-common. Not really an abbreviation – a shortening. Abbreviations usually have periods after them. ---
**Author:** ![Trunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/87869e/32.png) [@Trunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trunk)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2004, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-play-challenge/243994/13 "2004-05-07T17:07:16Z")
re rue ruse reuse refuse [it is to my dismay that “refusee” is not a word] Though I will rue your decision, go ahead and refuse “re”, but if you find it was not a ruse, feel free to reuse it. ---
**Author:** ![Trunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/87869e/32.png) [@Trunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trunk)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2004, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-play-challenge/243994/14 "2004-05-07T17:11:48Z")
re rue ruse reuse recuse recluse (bam!) ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2004, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-play-challenge/243994/15 "2004-05-07T17:11:55Z")
> [@Trunk](#): > > Though I will rue your decision, go ahead and refuse “re”, but if you find it was not a ruse, feel free to reuse it. Um, how could I possibly disqualify it after such an eloquent plea? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2004, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-play-challenge/243994/16 "2004-05-07T17:19:51Z")
> [@Trunk](#): > > re > rue > ruse > reuse > recuse > recluse > > (bam!) Or even re rue reuse recuse recurse (? [dictionary.com](http://dictionary.com) has it) recourse ---
**Author:** ![congodwarf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e36b37/32.png) [@congodwarf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/congodwarf)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2004, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-play-challenge/243994/17 "2004-05-07T17:23:15Z")
Damn. Here I was think I was so clever and I can’t even read. Ok, I’ll try again. OF OAF Nope, that didn’t work. Ok, I suck. Now I can’t even think of any 2 letter words. ---
**Author:** ![Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac8455/32.png) [@Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bippy_the_Beardless)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2004, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-play-challenge/243994/18 "2004-05-07T17:34:37Z")
RE RUE RUSE REUSE REFUSE or RE RUE RULE RUBLE ROUBLE RUMBLE RUBBLE If we allow transformation into two or more words (of two letters or more) but no appending to start or end of any word we can make this go further… and possibly generate infinite loops REFUSE REF USE REEF USE or infinite looping REFUSE RE FUSE RUE FUSE ---
**Author:** ![CandidGamera](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/candidgamera/32/2878_2.png) [@CandidGamera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CandidGamera)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2004, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-play-challenge/243994/19 "2004-05-07T17:39:57Z")
Assistance for folks still chugging away - I dead-ended trying to exploit Do, It, If, An, So, Me, Of, To, Be, Is, and Us at four letters (or less!) … the farthest I got with ‘In’ was to split it into Inn or Ion … from there Ion can be Icon or Iron… but I could think of no more. ---
**Author:** ![Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac8455/32.png) [@Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bippy_the_Beardless)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2004, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-play-challenge/243994/20 "2004-05-07T17:44:52Z")
-ho-hum looks like great minds think allike, I was preparing that in a text editor, and not just copying everyone else. Re is a perfectly good word, the musical note scale do, re, mi fa, so la, ti, do every scrabble sufferer should know. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-play-challenge/243994.md?page=2)